The Ba group was an ethnic group living in southwest China in the upper stream of the Yangtze River during a period extending from the Shang Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty (1600-221 BCE). The associated Ba State developed a strong power in the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE) and the Warring States (476–221 BCE), and had close cultural, economic exchanges and military activity with neighbouring States. Among the typical sites of the Ba culture, the Lijiaba site located on the eastern bank of the Pengxi River (Yangtze River), Chongqing, is of outmost importance for research on Ba culture. Due to the outstanding nature of the finds, it was selected as one of the Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in China in 1998. The lacquer scabbard of a bronze sword dating from the Warring States excavated from a Ba tomb of the Lijiaba site was characterized by a multidisciplinary approach including microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS), Raman spectroscopy and pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Pyrolysis-comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GCxGC/MS) was applied for the characterization of this valuable archaeological lacquer sample confirming its benefits for the description of the ingredients used in the formulation of the lacquer coating.